Last year, I started looking for a compelling story about children’s mental health in California that was grounded in solid numbers. I made lots of phone calls and had lots of meetings. Sources were sympathetic. They, too, would love to quantify problems with mental health services.

Seven years after voters passed Proposition 63 -- the landmark legislation that was supposed to radically improve mental health care in the state -- California is facing a deepening statewide mental health crisis. As the state struggles under the weight of a lingering recession and an enormous deficit, county mental health programs are often failing to provide care for even the sickest patients. In many cases, the minimal safety net that used to exist is disintegrating.